Spaces between faith and the nightclub

“It was like a sugar rush,” says Priszilla Medrano of her early years in Zurich. She came from a background outside Zurich that was heavily influenced by the ICF Free Church. “In the big city, there were suddenly endless possibilities. Spaces, people, ideas. Behind every door, five new ones were waiting.” The city became a testing ground for her: clubs, off-spaces, self-organised venues, cultural collectives. “I was so grateful for all these encounters that I almost burst.”

Today, she describes this period as the beginning of an inward journey. Spontaneity, which for her equates to quality of life, has become her guiding principle.

Priszilla works part-time at Zytlos, a socio-cultural café run by the Reformed Church in Zurich Enge. It is a place where people who would otherwise rarely find themselves in the same room come together: bankers, secondary school pupils, elderly people from care homes, and people just passing through.

“If you simply ask someone: Who are you? What’s on your mind? Then suddenly a whole world opens up.” By this she means stories and perspectives that often remain hidden: “People tell you things they wouldn’t tell anyone else.”

For the 29-year-old, this is precisely what cultural work is all about: “For me, culture isn’t just about producing art. Culture is also about how we share spaces with one another.”

She also found such spaces early on in nightlife: “Nightlife was like a new church.” She refers to a sense of community. To a place where people come together at the same moment.

Today she DJs at solidarity parties, in queer spaces, in clubs and on the radio. She sees DJing as a transition: “First I play other people’s music, and at some point I start producing music myself.”

Alongside this, other projects emerge, often spontaneously: such as the open Dänsfräns chat on WhatsApp and Signal with over 1,000 members, which raises the profile of more non-commercial events in Zurich. Or ideas like Dekokokon, where people are decorated instead of spaces.

“I love it when people come together and something emerges that is bigger than us as individuals.” For her, these are moments of shared presence – especially on the dance floor: “When twenty or thirty people are still dancing together in the morning, something liberating happens.”

Her relationship with the Church has remained ambivalent. There, she experienced both formative values and intense conflicts: “The Christian idea of charity has always been queer-friendly to me.”

Institutionally, however, she experienced exclusion. People in her circle lost relationships and a sense of community because of their sexual orientation. This is no reason for Priszilla not to work in a church context today – though, as she emphasises, in the Reformed Church of Zurich. There, she encounters a different attitude. “The Reformed Church of the City of Zurich, for example, has spoken out clearly in favour of marriage for all.” For her, this is a sign of change: “My black-and-white thinking has dissolved.”

When she talks about her values, Priszilla mentions ‘community’, ‘accessibility’ and ‘feminism’. Or to put it succinctly: “Ultimately, for me, it’s all about love.” Love not so much as a feeling, but as an attitude: “Love asks questions. It takes an interest. It doesn’t make claims.” This attitude also shapes her cultural work.

She doesn’t know exactly what comes next: “Perhaps music. Perhaps writing. Perhaps a new format. When I look back over the past year, I’m always amazed at everything that has come about.”

Finally, she expresses a wish that sums up her work: “I want to create spaces for community, where people meet honestly and with interest – and where beautiful questions are asked.”

Priszilla Medrano (29) lives and works in Zurich at the intersection of design, social work and culture. She is a social deacon at Zytlos, studies transdisciplinarity at the ZHdK and DJs at solidarity parties and in queer spaces. With projects such as the open Dänsfräns-Chat or ideas such as Dekokokon, she creates spaces for encounter and community. She is currently focusing more on her own writing and musical projects.

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9 April – Furka Radio wd w/ lullabies | PrisZilla
17 April – Wildcard Tanzhaus | PrisZilla
18 April – Fri Son Fribourg | Zilla Wurzel
21 May – Furka Radio wd w/ lullabies | PrisZilla